Winter Warriors
by Honeystar of Awesomeclan
Summary: Cupcake is eager to welcome the new cat, but he's a little strange. He claims to be from a "clan" and have nine lives. Cupcake is doubtful. But when another cat claiming to be from another "clan" seeks Firestar's help, she must learn to trust.
1. The Beginning

Winter is my favorite time of year. Here's a story dedicated to it. This is just for fun, so NO FLAMING PLEASE!

…...

Cupcake sat contentedly under the Christmas tree with Twix. The two animals marveled at the beautiful lights and ornaments before hearing a knock at the door. The door opened, revealing one of the housefolk holding a cat in her hands. The cat appeared to be injured and unconscious. The girl ran into the other room, tears streaming down her face. . Cupcake understood very little human, but she tried to pick up on the conversation going on between the girl and her parents.

"Cat…forest …fighting…injured…keep…help…present." Is what Cupcake could understand of the girl's side of the conversation.

"Maybe…responsibility…keep…understand?" Cupcake looked at Twix.

"What are they saying?" Twix asked excitedly.

"From what I can make of it, cats fighting in the forest injured it and the housefolk kit wants to keep it to help it. She says that it could be her present." Cupcake replied, purring happily at her thorough knowledge of how to speak housefolk.

"Another cat? What, you aren't bad enough?" Twix barked worriedly.

"Shut up." Cupcake hissed. "Just go to sleep."

….

The next morning, Cupcake awoke to find the injured cat awake and staring out the window. She got a good look at the newcomer. His orange fur stood out against the room's blue wallpaper, and he had a longing look in his green eyes. Running out from her spot under the couch, she leaped up next to the mysterious cat.

"Good morning." Her sudden appearance caused the cat to unsheathe his claws and practically jump straight up into the air. They stared at each other for a moment before she spoke again.

"Tough night, huh?" She inquired as the cat followed her gaze to his many deep scars.

"…yeah." The cat sighed.

"It looks pretty serious. It's a good thing my housefolk found you, or you would have been a goner!" Cupcake remarked. The cat shrugged silently and returned to staring out the window.

"My name's Cupcake. What's yours?" she asked, dismissing his odd behavior.

"Firestar. My name is Firestar."

…

Sorry the first chapter was so short, but I thought that it was a good spot to stop. Please R&R!

-Honeyfoot =3


	2. The Nightmare

Chapter 2 of Winter Warriors! P.S. Firestar's character might be off, since I haven't read the series in a while.

….

"Firestar?" Cupcake repeated, her head tilted to the side. "That's a weird name. "

"He'll be renamed soon enough." Twix remarked from across the room. Firestar's eyes narrowed as he hissed at the confused dog.

"It's fine. Twix won't hurt you." Cupcake meowed, smiling.

"He can…talk?" Firestar asked skeptically.

"Can and will." Twix replied with a nod before lying down on the floor.

"Anyway, what does he mean, 'I'll be renamed'?" Firestar inquired curiously.

"Oh, that! See, the housefolk give us new names after a week or so." Cupcake explained.

"Do I have a choice?"  
>"No, not really." Cupcake shrugged. "Where do you get a name like Firestar anyway?"<p>

"Well, I used to be called Fireheart, but when I became leader, I became Firestar."

"Leader of…"

"Thunderclan." Firestar finished.

"You expect everyone to believe that?" Twix asked, stifling a laugh.

"I'm telling the truth!" Firestar insisted.

"Well, it DOES seem a little farfetched…" Cupcake trailed off. "Well, I guess it doesn't matter. It's almost time for breakfast!" She ran into the kitchen. Seeing that Firestar wasn't following, she rolled her eyes.  
>"Come on, don't you want to eat?"<br>"I'm not eating those pellet look-alikes you call food." he remarked indignantly. He remembered when he was a kittypet. Such a soft life, so easy and carefree. But he wasn't going back to that life. Ever. The forest was where he belonged, and he wasn't going to break the warrior code, even if he was hungry.

Really, really, hungry.

"Whatever." Sprinting toward her dish, he scanned the outside area. It was covered in a blanket of snow. No patrols were in sight. What if the clans were damaged in the fight? What if the Dark Forest cats got to them? He shuddered at the thought. He looked at the Christmas tree with interest, trying not to think of the Dark Forest. The lights were so dazzling, so stunning…

…..

Firestar ran across the forest, looking for his clanmates. The island. Maybe they were on the island. He tried to run across the log to get to it when it collapsed. Firestar plunged into the murky waters as they tried to pull him deeper. Looking up, he saw a set of amber eyes shining evilly. TIGERSTAR's amber eyes. Firestar's lungs gave out, and darkness came over him.

….

"Firestar? Firestar, wake up!" He awoke to see Cupcake's worried blue eyes. "You looked like you were having a nightmare."

"Thanks." Firestar sighed, relieved that it was indeed, just a dream. After calming down, his eyes rested once again on the vibrant tree.

"Hey, umm, I have a question."

"Yeah?"

"What's that tree for?" he asked, his tail motioning toward the tree.

"Oh…" Cupcake said nervously. Although she considered herself an expert on housefolk, she never really DID figure out what that tree was for. A smile crept onto Firestar's face.

"You don't know, do you?"

"It's not that, it's just that…well…"  
>"She doesn't know!" Twix called from the other room. Cupcake hoped no one could see the blushing under her fur.<p>

"I guess it doesn't matter. Twolegs do a lot of strange things." Twix walked into the room, interested in this new term.

"What are Twolegs?" Cupcake and Twix said in almost complete unison.

"They're housefolk. "Twolegs" is the term that clan cats use. Cupcake still didn't believe that he was from any "clan". It sounded completely unrealistic! But she was interested in these cats. It would make for a nice story.

"Could you tell me more about these 'clans'?" Cupcake asked so quickly and quietly that it took a while before the question registered in his mind.

"Why not?" Firestar began to explain clanlife when he suddenly felt a pang of hunger. He knew he shouldn't break the warrior code, but what else was he supposed to do? Starve to death?

"Are you hungry?" she asked, as if reading his thoughts.

"Yeah, I guess." He followed Cupcake into the kitchen silently. She showed him to a full food bowl and he reluctantly ate the dry pellets. After eating, he got a good look around. It looked pretty decent, you know, for a twoleg nest.

"Thanks." Firestar said to Cupcake before resting on the window still. He stared out the window, waiting for a patrol, and wondering if they're coming at all.

…

Please R&R!


	3. The Ecounter

Winter Warriors Chapter 3! Note: Cupcake is actually very organized and likes to make lists in her head.

…

Cupcake stared at Firestar. He had been spending more and more time staring out that window, and it worried her. Firestar sighed before leaping down from the window still and found a spot under the tree. Cupcake lied down next to him.

"Firestar…why are you always staring out that window?"

"Because I'm worried about my clan. I just couldn't bear it if the Dark Forest got to them." Seeing Cupcake's blank expression, he tried to elaborate.

"That's a good story." Cupcake remarked as she was cleaning herself.

"It's NOT a story…" Firestar grumbled. She sighed before padding into the kitchen. She went over the list of things he'd told her since he got here:

1. His name is Firestar.

2. He was born a kittypet. (kittypets are domestic cats)

3. He is now leader of a clan.

4. There are five clans.

5. Their names are Thunderclan, Shadowclan, Riverclan, Windclan, and Skyclan.

6. Clan cats believe that their ancestors live in Starclan.

7. Twolegs = Housefolk

8. Clan leaders have nine lives.

9. The Dark Forest is where bad cats go.

10. The Dark Forest has been training cats within the clans.

11. The Dark Forest apprentices rebelled.

12. Firestar lost a life in the battle.

Boy, was he chatty. Well, how many of these could she believe? Number 1, number 2…that's it. Those were the ONLY believable things he'd told her. Suddenly, she smelled something. It was milky and sweet, and smelled a little like Firestar. She turned around to find a pile of tiny seeds on the cold tile floor.  
>"What the…" Cupcake stared at the pile for a moment before carefully eating one. "Well, I'm not dead." She shrugged before scraping them into Firestar's bowl.<p>

"What did you just put into my bowl?" Cupcake turned around to see Firestar in the doorway.

"Umm…well…" She really had no idea. "You see…oh, hey! Here come the housefolk!" _Lucky break for me! _She thought to herself. _I'm so lazy._

"I think we're allowed outside today." One of the housefolk opened the sliding glass door. Cupcake ran out into the glittering white snow before looking back at Firestar, who quickly followed. He breathed in the crisp winter air before realizing how short the fence was. This was his chance to escape! He darted across the yard and jumped up onto the fence. Well, he tried, anyway. He fell back onto the ground, his leg throbbing with pain.

…_.._

_MYSTERY POV_

I padded silently along the side of the fence, my senses alert. I came a long way, and I'm not giving up now. Lost in my thoughts, it took me a while before I noticed the familiar scent. Could it be? I jumped up onto the picket fence. It _was _him!

"Firestar?" He spun around at the sound of his name. His eyes grew as large as saucers.

"Leafstar?"


End file.
